American Horror Story: The First 11 Seasons, Ranked

Season 1: Murder House

American Horror Story: Murder House set the tone for the spooky anthology, and we're vouching for it as the best season to date. Murphy and Falchuk pulled viewers in with family trauma, restless spirits, a latex suit, nosy neighbors and the glamour of Los Angeles. We also met some of the show's biggest stars for the first time: Evan Peters, Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson and more.

Season 1 follows a therapist as he moves his family to the city of angels to escape his cheating past and heal from his wife's miscarriage. Dr. Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott), his wife Vivien (Connie Britton) and their daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga) move into a creepy, eclectic mansion — and they're not alone as ghosts of former residents roam the grounds. The family soon learns this new home will not be the fresh start they were looking for.

Season 3: Coven

Good fashion? New Orleans? A gang of powerful witches? What's not to love! Season 3 of American Horror Story follows a coven of misunderstood witches at Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies — that descended directly from Salem. The gang includes A-listers Roberts, Lily Rabe, Gabourey Sidibe and Farmiga, led by Paulson as teacher Cordelia Foxx (née Goode). Cordelia struggles to guide her fellow witches when her mother, Fiona Goode (Lange), returns to rule the coven again as Supreme Witch and repair her relationship with her daughter.

Season 3, like many in the AHS franchise, is inspired by true events such as the Salem witch trials and real people like Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett) and serial killer Madame Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates). While Coven isn't jump-out-at-you scary, it's intriguing, serves up campy drama and provides major Halloween inspiration.

Season 8: Apocalypse

Season 8 of American Horror Story connects the two best seasons: Murder House and Coven (as well as moments from season 5's Hotel), as it explores the world following a nuclear fallout caused by the Antichrist. The first few episodes focus on a group of new characters randomly chosen to survive a nuclear bomb. Eventually, the coven of season 3 is brought back (Roberts, Paulson and Frances Conroy) to reverse the end of the world and stop the Antichrist, a.k.a. Michael Langdon — played by Cody Fern — who disguises himself as a powerful warlock in order to blend in.

Season 6: Roanoke

Roanoke gets a lot of flack from AHS fans, but if you're into true crime, season 6 is for you. This chapter takes inspiration from crime docudramas as it reenacts the experiences of a married couple who relocates to North Carolina. Shelby (Rabe) and Matt Miller (André Holland) move into an old, secluded home in a rural area. Strange things begin to occur, and they soon realize the property has a twisted past: It was built in the same area where more than 100 colonists from Roanoke Island disappeared in the 1500s.

As the Millers tell their story, Paulson and Cuba Gooding Jr. play the couple in reenactments. Later on the season, the cast, along with the real-life Millers, return to the home for a reunion-like special where things take a dark turn. While different from other AHS seasons, Roanoke is still thrilling and boasts an all-star ensemble including Bates, Peters, Lady Gaga and Bassett.

Season 7: Cult

Following the aftermath of the unforgettable 2016 election, Cult proves that everyday life can be just as scary as TV. Released in 2017 — when many Americans were still processing the Trump presidency — the season is set in the fictional town of Brookfield Heights, Mich., and centers around a lesbian couple, Ally Mayfair-Richards (Paulson) and Ivy (Alison Pill), as they try to cope with life after the election.

As Ally grows increasingly unstable, an alt-righter named Kai Anderson (Peters) rejoices in Trump's win and forms a cult of sinister followers who help him become a political leader in the already-divided city. Like other seasons, Cult features frights, blood and gore but also explores the true horror of what can happen when the wrong person is in power.

Season 7 also welcomes Billie Lourd to the franchise.

Season 5: Hotel

Hotel is by far the creepiest AHS installment, but the storyline can be hard to follow. Season 5 explores the strange and deadly occurrences at Hotel Cortez in downtown Los Angeles. The structure, which was originally built as a torture chamber, is run by The Countess a.k.a. Elizabeth Johnson (Lady Gaga) — the widow of serial killer James Patrick March (Peters) — who was turned into a vampire after a rendezvous gone wrong with a past lover.

The blood-sucking fashionista uses the space to house her never-ending supply of human blood and as a venue for avant-garde parties. The hotel finds itself at the center of an investigation when a detective arrives searching for answers after a series of grisly murders. In addition to the plot, the overall aesthetic of Hotel will give you chills with blood-stained sheets, black leaky faucets and flickering lights. Making the season all the more frightening, it is said to be based on the real-life horror story of the Cecil Hotel.

Season 4: Freak Show

At first, Freak Show appears to tell the story of a bunch of underdogs trying to live out their dreams; but as viewers know, no AHS season is that lighthearted. Set in the 1950s, season 4 follows Elsa Mars (Lange) as she struggles to keep her fair running in the quiet town of Jupiter, Fla.

Mars is determined to make her group of sideshow performers — which includes conjoined twin sisters (Paulson), a three-breasted woman (Bassett), a bearded woman (Bates) and more — famous. As they try to attract local residents, a killer clown begins to wreak havoc on the community. Like Hotel, Freak Show features an all-star cast and a promising plot, but it tends to drag and results in an ending that doesn't offer much closure.

Season 9: 1984

If you love retro slasher films, 1984 is the season for you. Set in the titular year, season 9 focuses on a young woman named Brooke Thompson (Roberts) as she befriends a group and decides to join them as counselors at Camp Redwood — a newly reopened summer camp with a disturbing past. When the counselors arrive on the grounds, they're met by Margaret Booth (Leslie Grossman), a former camper who survived a serial killer who attacked the camp years before.

In true AHS fashion, the season incorporates real-life elements, like the terror of serial killer Richard Ramirez (Zach Villa). Season 9's installment will have you on the edge of your seat but sometimes puzzled by its excessive storylines and different POV characters.

Season 2: Asylum

Asylum follows the patients and staff members of the mental asylum Briarcliff Manor, set in an undisclosed town in Massachusetts. The institution was founded to treat and house the criminally insane. Viewers are introduced to the facility after Kit Walker (Peters) is accused of being a serial killer named "Bloody Face" following the disappearance of his wife, Alma (Britne Oldford). He claims she was abducted by aliens.

While a bit slow at times, season 2 tackles social issues, provides horror and features musical performances by Lange.

Season 10: Double Feature

For the first time in American Horror Story history, Murphy and Falchuk decided to split an installment into two parts, experimenting with season 10.

Part 1, titled Red Tide, follows struggling writer Harry Gardner (Finn Wittrock) and his pregnant wife Doris (Rabe) as they relocate to Provincetown, Mass., for him to focus on his work. While there, he is offered a mysterious black pill that helps him write like never before. However, the pill also creates a thirst for blood and only works on those who are actually talented. When Doris takes it (after giving birth) with the hope of becoming a better interior designer, she turns into a monster. While the first few episodes pull viewers in with terrific performances from Rabe, Adina Porter, Grossman and more, Red Tide comes to an abrupt end when the pill finds its way to Los Angeles.

Part 2, titled Death Valley, introduces Kaia Gerber to the franchise when she and a group of college students go on a camping trip and are abducted and impregnated by aliens. It is later revealed that their pregnancies were in the works for decades — a plan put in motion by former presidents of the United States under the command of aliens, who wanted to save their own kind from dying by creating a new species. While the idea of aliens is always an interesting concept to explore, Death Valley falls short with a rushed finale and no explanation as to what this new alien species means for human civilization.

Season 11: NYC

NYC might rank the lowest of the anthology series thus far, but that doesn't mean the installment isn't worth watching. Set in the 1980s, New Yorkers face two potential serial killers preying on gay men in Lower Manhattan and an unknown illness impacting Fire Island deer and the LGBTQ+ community. Meanwhile, scientist and doctor Hannah Wells (Lourd) makes a shocking discovery, and reporter Gino Barelli (Joe Mantello) stumbles upon the story of a lifetime — but at great cost.

Season 11 steps away from the supernatural terror it's known for and grounds itself in the horrors of reality and the dangers of conspiracy theories. However, it's still fast-paced, thought-provoking and unexpectedly emotional. The controversial season also stars AHS mainstays Patti LuPone, Zachary Quinto, Denis O'Hare and Grossman.